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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Inspiration.

As an author I aim to inspire pictures with my words. Readers rely on me to formulate
the perfect balance of description to bring characters, scenes and
conversations to life. But this week, I realised just how much I, as an author,
rely on pictures to inspire my words.

An extract from my
biography reads: ‘Rose is inspired by the love of her coastal home...’, and my
recent trip to Cairns drove home to me just how true this statement is. As I
walked the tropical settings of our north, I could literally feel the
characters of my current work in progress come to life. I felt closer to them,
as though I were seeing the settings through their eyes. I was inspired, and
delighted by the new revelations I encountered in both my characters and
storyline. I giggled to myself as my imagination conjured up a horrible predicament
for an unlikable character, and I felt an affinity with another character as
the sun set over a watery horizon.

After a week of
inspiration it occurred to me that, as authors, we are all inspired by
different things. For some it may be a time or place in history, for others it could be
relationship dilemmas, and others draw on a fantastical imagination as
inspiration. For me, I certainly draw on my surroundings. Below are some pictures that inspired me on my recent trip to Cairns. I would love to hear
what inspires you.

19 comments:

Beautiful scenery also inspire me, but one thing that really gets me going is a good true story. Sometimes a news story will create a little spark and set me on the "what if" trail. And of course if you can travel in beautiful settings and pick up local stories along the way, all the better. Thanks for sharing.

I know what you mean, Rose. I walked around areas where the 'Black Forest' existed, including Mt Macedon, and it brought to life several scenes from Black Forest Redemption. I could really imagine Tony and Stella climbing the mountain and running through the bush. :)

Don't you just love it when you get that connection with a character. I've been to Cairns a lot - even lived there at one stage, but this time I saw so much more, and I think it is because I have a new story to tell there. Kind of amazed me a bit. :)

You've "hit the spot", Rose! I dragged my dear hubby around London, especially back streets and then the British Museum where two of my main characters meet in my next novel, The Tie That Binds. And even now I can vizualise details from those scenes. But there's nothing like a few photos to nudge your memory.

That's for sure, Rita. Before I became an author I was a very poor photo taker. I could go for years without pulling out a camera, but now I know I can frustrate people with the amount of photos I take. I think that if I can just get one shot that captures the feelings of being in that particular spot, the photo will be a great reference point when I am writing. I'm pleased I am not the only one dragging family around on research trips. :)

Oh I can just see you giggling away, Rose, at something you are going to inflict on your protagonist! Can't wait to read it.My inspiration is random - some little detail starts off a scene in my head. It can be pictures, places, scenes, music, a good book - anything. Love your pictures by the way,I need to get that proficient in my photo taking

Yes, its wonderful how our mind sets to working as we take in our surroundings. Our eyes...the windows of our soul, take what we see and store it in our brain, to be fathomed out by our heart. Depending on the condition of our heart, whether or not we are influenced by a faith in Jesus, or, something undesirable, it conjurers back in our mind, what we will write on. I have never actually seen the whole picture of this before. What a wondrous God we serve.

Loved your beautiful pictures Rose. Isn't it interesting that different things inspire us? As for me beauty in nature has always been a source of inspiration. Life itself is my big source of inspiration since the little aspects of life and what happens grabs me. Then of course God's love is my biggest inspiration that spurs me on to write.Thanks again Rose,Am sure your inspiration is always bubbling on a backburner,Anusha

I think images inspire me too, but lately I've been wishing I could get my hands on movie soundtrack music as I'll often catch myself briefly drifting off from the storyline of a movie to consider the story in the piece of music behind it's scenes. Wreck it Ralph has some fantastic music!